Ignacia Solis
by Default Jane
Summary: Hunnigan has a stalker and Helena is determined to figure out who it is despite Hunnigan's specific request to ignore it. While doing that, Helena comes to realize there's more to Hunnigan than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

The late September day was sunny and warm, but the conversation Helena was having with Robert, a former colleague from the CIA, was downright chilly. They were seated at a terrace table of a café, seemingly enjoying the beautiful day, but in reality, there was nothing enjoyable about the situation.

"You owe me, I took the fall for you when that interrogation went to shit, so don't give me excuses, just do it," she muttered.  
"All right, fine. Give me the address and the schedule and I'll have it done," he let out a defeated sigh.

"She's going to be at work at least from seven A.M. until three-thirty P.M. so you've got plenty of time," Helena said and slid a piece of paper with an address over to him.  
"What's she done, why is she a person of interest anyway?" he frowned as he looked at the name and let out a quiet slow whistle at the address. Whoever this Ingrid Hunnigan was, she certainly lived in the better part of town, probably paid more rent than he made in a month.

"That is none of your concern."  
"You are asking me to assign a team to install surveillance in her apartment, I think I deserve to know why, especially since it's my ass on the line."

"I'm not asking you to do it, I'm telling you to do it," Helena corrected, finished her coffee and got up. "Call me when you're done, and I'll come pick up the equipment I'll need," she said and walked away.

* * *

"When I said 'do whatever makes you happy', I obviously meant 'do things that make you happy within the confines of the legal system', stalking Hunnigan isn't within the confines of the legal system!" Leon hissed agitatedly as he took a seat next to Helena. They were in her apartment and it hadn't been her intention to let him in on her project, but once he'd seen the screens and the images displayed on them, he'd demanded an explanation.

"I'm not stalking her, I'm trying to protect her, and since she refused to let me do that and since she refuses to take this seriously, I have to go around some rules."  
"If she finds out about this, she will murder you."

"I know, so let's just hope it won't come to that. The sooner we find the guy, the better and that way, Hunnigan will never have to know," Helena reasoned with a small shrug.

Contrary to what one might have expected, "The Guy" didn't seem to be someone who had decided to target a random, relatively high-ranking government agent because on paper, Hunnigan was just a desk jockey and her deeper involvement regarding handling missions was never disclosed in any reports or news. An ex-partner would've been the obvious answer, but all Hunnigan's exes had been cleared.

The Guy had dressed up as a pizza delivery person and brought a box into the office, left it at Hunnigan's desk and exited the building. Instead of a pizza, the box had contained a home-made bomb. Fortunately, Hunnigan had recalled never ordering it and had given it to Leon who had accidentally set the bomb off when he'd carelessly tossed the box onto the table in the kitchenette. No one had gotten hurt aside from minor bruises and scratches but had Hunnigan (or anyone else) opened the box right in front of herself, she could've gotten killed.

All her exes had air tight alibis for when that had happened, so it couldn't have been any of them. Unless, of course, Hunnigan was leaving someone out for some reason. Frankly, Helena was beginning to think that was the case, and she told as much to Leon.

"I doubt that. I mean, she's a private introvert, what did you expect, that she'd jump for joy at the thought of having someone stay with her twenty-four-seven?" Leon scoffed.  
"I like my privacy as much as the next girl, but this is her life we're talking about."

"Mm-hm, so when she told you she would not have you following her everywhere, you decided to bug her home. And you think she's the one who's behaving strangely?"

"Okay, this is not going to sound very convincing considering the circumstances we met under way back when, but I was really fucking good at my job as a protective agent in the CIA and as one of the President's personal guards when I was in the Secret Service, I know what I'm doing."

Leon could've made a snide remark, but the truth was, had Simmons been dumb enough to recruit any other agent for his personal project, it would've failed because it was like Helena said, she truly was good at her job.

"Look. We're talking about a guy who had the nerve to waltz into the DSO headquarters pretending to deliver a damn pizza, what's stopping him from just turning up at Hunnigan's door at some point? Since Hunnigan won't let me be a guard dog at the door, this is all I got," Helena explained.

"Well, the building does have a doorman."

"Yeah, that eighty-year old guy… who looks very dashing in his uniform and is really nice… or that younger guy who is glued to his phone. Bottom line, I've been in and out of there and they've never asked a question or ID… and I seriously doubt they'd even be able to tell a fake ID from a real one, so… very secure indeed," Helena said sarcastically.

"Are you gonna help me or not?" she then sighed, and Leon blew a raspberry as he thought about it and exhaled deeply.  
"For the record, this makes me incredibly uncomfortable. But yeah, I'll help out. A little. If anyone asks, I did nothing."

"Noted."

* * *

 _How do you not get lonely? Or bored?_ Helena wondered, completely unaware of the irony of it seeing as she'd spent the past two weeks doing even less than what Hunnigan had been doing while at home; she'd spent hours sitting at her computer watching… Hunnigan sit at _her_ computer. Sometimes she'd curl up with a book, and frankly, the only thing that had surprised Helena regarding Hunnigan and her personal, private life was that she didn't curl up with a book and a bottle of wine, rather she grabbed a six-pack. Helena had never imagined Hunnigan as the beer-drinking type.

The thing Helena had noticed above everything else was how… lonely Hunnigan's life seemed. She didn't call anyone and aside from the odd telemarketer or two, no one called her. There were no visitors and she didn't visit anyone, never stopped by at a friend's on her way home from work; the only stop she made was at the grocery store. As far as Helena could tell, no one at the store seemed to be The Guy either, no one following her afterward or acting weird.

Well, no one aside from Helena who felt both proud of being so discreet Hunnigan never even noticed her, and then upset because this was just proving a point; this was how easy it was to follow someone, and they never even know it's happening. Granted, Helena was a professional, but Hunnigan knew her, she should've recognized her, they'd passed each other face-to-face more than once. Helena didn't like to advocate unnecessary paranoia, but Hunnigan just wasn't paying attention to anything happening around her.

Helena couldn't quite understand how that was even possible. When at work, Hunnigan saw and knew everything. She knew the way each of the other FOS agents in her office liked their coffee. She knew the names of everyone's kids, pets and spouses. She knew what brand of cigarettes the smokers preferred, and she knew who was afraid of water and who was afraid of dogs. She listened, she paid attention, so why was her situational awareness such a joke when it came to her surroundings anywhere else?

Helena perked up when she heard Hunnigan's doorbell ring. She leaned closer to the screen and turned the volume up as she watched Hunnigan walk across her apartment and answer the door. Helena internally rolled her eyes at Hunnigan for not asking who it was or even taking a second to look through the peephole before opening the door.

"You're late."  
"Like, two minutes!" a female voice laughed.

"I'm still docking that from your pay," Hunnigan smirked when a tall blonde entered the apartment.  
"We both already know you're not gonna do that," she chuckled.

"Speaking of your pay, let's get this out of the way, it'd be awkward if I forget," Hunnigan then said and handed her a stack of bills. Helena couldn't make out how much was there exactly, but she was more curious about what Hunnigan was paying for anyway.

"It's still a thousand, yes?"  
"It's never been more than eight hundred, and you know it," the blonde laughed gently as she accepted the money and put it in her wallet.

"Well, at least this way you'll never be able to say I wasn't fair," Hunnigan shrugged with a smile.  
"You know it, I totally call you a sugar mama behind your back," the blonde chortled and Hunnigan laughed.

"Ah, Nic, I think it's adorable that you believe I didn't know you do that," she shook her head and headed into the kitchen, inquiring the blonde… who was apparently named Nic… if she wanted something.

 _Wait, is she… a prostitute?_ Helena frowned when Nic called out that she didn't want anything and then headed straight into the bedroom.

 _No, a thousand bucks is too much for that… at least I think it is. Then again, I believe that if Hunnigan were to hire someone for that, she wouldn't pick up just anyone,_ Helena mused. She didn't have a view of the bed, she'd specifically asked Robert to leave that and the bathroom out. She was nosing around Hunnigan's life, but that was where she drew the line. Besides, as far as safety went, there was no reason to expand the view to those areas; the windows in the bathroom and bedroom were unreachable unless you were Spider-Man or had a jet-pack, so Helena really only needed to see the doors.

Hunnigan entered the bedroom and judging from the sounds, she and Nic got in bed.

 _Oh-kay, no, nope, don't need to hear that,_ Helena grumbled internally and muted her laptop as Hunnigan and Nic spoke quietly, the mutters and murmurs accompanied by the quiet swishing of the bedsheets offering too much information as it was.

Seeing Nic, however, made Helena realize something. Maybe The Guy wasn't a guy. Hunnigan hadn't disclosed any female lovers when she'd listed her exes, but Helena assumed she had chosen not to do so. Which meant maybe there was someone who didn't have an alibi for the bombing.

"Yeah, but why would she have not said anything?" Helena muttered to herself. Maybe she was ashamed. Maybe she was still in the closet. Maybe she just didn't want anyone to know any more of her personal life than they had to, admitting to this "anomaly" would mean giving away more information that she felt even half-comfortable sharing. Maybe it was none of those reasons if there was one at all. What mattered was that in her search for The Guy, Helena had never even stopped to consider he could be The Gal instead.


	2. Chapter 2

"Helena. We need to talk."

Had those words been arriving through a phone call or in person, Helena wouldn't have freaked out. Instead, Hunnigan was leaning into the island in the middle of her kitchen, staring up into the camera which she supposed Robert had disguised (or attempted to) as a smoke detector or some other common item you'd find in a kitchen.

 _Oh, shit. Shit. Shit! She knows._

"I know it's you because you're the only one who was adamant about this and I know of your CIA-connection. Setting up surveillance wouldn't be much trouble for you. Also, the fact that you were following me around almost daily for a week or so before this kind of gave you away," Hunnigan continued nonchalantly and sipped her coffee.

"I'm thinking that whoever did set this up wasn't a pro though, because quite frankly, the mistakes are just hilarious. Or then he or she didn't care about getting the job done right. This camera that I'm looking at right now? I can see the damn power indicator-light," Hunnigan laughed softly. Well, that was true, surveillance wasn't Robert's strong point, but Helena knew he could've done it right if he'd cared enough. Either that or both he and Helena had severely underestimated Hunnigan. Helena was willing to admit it was probably that.

"Also, he's stupidly connected the cameras into my guest Wi-Fi, so… like I said, either he didn't care or then he just didn't really know what he was doing," Hunnigan continued. Helena figured it was the former. She'd need to have words with Robert about it later… provided she'd survive whatever it was that Hunnigan would do to her when she saw her the next time.

Helena jumped when her phone rang and exhaled in defeat before answering the call.

"…hi…?"  
"Get over here," Hunnigan said and ended the call immediately after.

"Well, I guess this is how I die," Helena muttered, got up and began to head over to Hunnigan's apartment. She wasn't sure what exactly to expect, as far as she knew, Hunnigan wasn't the type who would explode into a murderous rage over things, not even when she would've had the right to. Then again, Helena couldn't say she'd witnessed Hunnigan ever have her personal life quite this badly violated before, so who knew what would happen.

Helena felt like she shrunk about a foot the moment Hunnigan answered the door and gave her the level ten death-glare.

"Come in," Hunnigan said and Helena reluctantly followed, feeling the same kind of discomfort she'd only felt as a kid when she'd been sent to the principal's office.  
"Okay, listen, I did this because—"

"Oh, no, don't. I don't need to know because frankly, I don't care. Whatever your intentions, you've committed a crime, literally, and you've also violated my rights on a personal level."  
"I needed to be sure you were okay, and you wouldn't let me do anything, what choice did I have?" Helena sighed.

"You could've trusted me and let me handle it like I said I would."  
"Someone damn near blew your head off, literally, and you want to just ignore it and hope it goes away? What is wrong with you!"

"Nothing, but your help is not needed."  
"So, I was right, you _do_ know who's behind it."

"No, but until they blew up my office, I was willing to ignore it. Obviously, that is no longer an option," Hunnigan sighed and took a seat on the couch. Helena slowly lowered herself to sit on an arm chair but didn't quite dare to relax.  
"It's kind of about Nic and others like her who find their way to me. I'm assuming you know about her seeing as you've been spying on me for, what, three weeks or so?"

"You… knew all along?"

"Yeah, but it took me a while to figure out it was you and not Leon, because honestly, the work was so clumsy it could've been him, and he's not an expert by any means. But, I digress…" Hunnigan muttered and Helena nodded slowly, grateful that Leon's involvement wasn't the topic since she'd promised to keep his involvement a secret, but she didn't think she would be able to lie to Hunnigan if she directly asked about it.

"Humor me. Tell me what you know… or think you know about the situation," Hunnigan then said and Helena swallowed hard. She really didn't want to say what she honestly thought but no matter how she tried to look at the situation she'd witnessed between Nic and Hunnigan, she couldn't come up with another explanation for it.

"Well… I'm assuming she's… someone who exchanges her time for… oh, for fuck's sake, I'm assuming she's a prostitute. Or an escort? Or something. I don't know what the person trying to kill you has to do with Nic, though, did you piss off a pimp?" Helena muttered, and she could tell Hunnigan was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"All right, please, don't torture me with this for much longer. I know I deserve it for fucking up as bad as I did, but my intentions were good, for whatever little that is worth," Helena then said, hanging her head low and Hunnigan exhaled deeply, shaking her head.

"Your heart is in the right place, Helena. God only knows where the hell your brain is," she said.  
"Ow."

"Nic's not a prostitute or an escort or anything like that."  
"Oh, excuse me for thinking that just because you gave her a ton of cash, she called you her sugar mama and then you went to bed, I don't know what I was thinking," Helena drawled sarcastically.

"Well, I suppose that technically I am her sugar mama, but that sounds so tawdry, I don't think I appreciate the title," Hunnigan pursed her lips as she thought about it and Helena rolled her eyes.

"Nic ran away from home when she was seventeen and as the story usually goes, she ended up going from getting beat by her drunken mother to being abused by a douchebag boyfriend. A couple of years ago, I literally tripped over her when I was heading home from work. It was dark in the underground parking, she was under the stairs. I still don't know how she got there, she doesn't remember."

"Why was she there?" Helena frowned and Hunnigan offered a sad smile.  
"She was sleeping. Or, passed out more like. Her boyfriend had gotten her drunk and then he and his friends had… wolf-packed her," Hunnigan said and Helena nodded slowly.

"I wanted to take her to the hospital, but she refused, so I brought her home and she stayed here for a while until I got her an apartment of her own. The money you saw me give her wasn't in exchange for anything lewd, it was just to help her with the student loan payments," Hunnigan explained.

"…but what about… the bedroom? I mean, I didn't see anything! Because, for the record, the cam was just aimed at the door, but, you know," Helena said awkwardly and Hunnigan chuckled.  
"It's called cuddling, look it up. Not that it's any of your business, but that's all that happened, cuddling and binge-watching _Orange is the new black._ "

"So, the person sending you the threats is the ex-boyfriend? How does he know about you?"  
"I don't know if it is him or not. Truth be told, it could be a lot of people," Hunnigan said and Helena frowned.

"What do you mean? Who did you piss off and how?" she asked and Hunnigan blew out a breath.  
"A lot of ex-husbands who are proven to be prone to violence," she said, and Helena's eyebrow quirked. She didn't comment, just silently waited for Hunnigan to explain.

"I'm a part of a network of people who help others, usually women, to leave abusive relationships. A lot of the time people stay with abusive partners because they don't have anywhere to go, or they can't afford to leave. Or, alternatively, the farthest they get is the closest friend or relative which is the first place the abuser will look," Hunnigan began and got up, heading toward the kitchen, making a small "follow me"-gesture as she moved, and Helena got up as well.

"A lot of the people volunteer at shelters and give out the information of the next link in the chain to those who need it," she said and filled a container with water before pouring the liquid into the coffee maker.

"From there on, depending how much help someone wants or needs, they're sent to the next person who can help. I'm usually the last stop because I have access to safe houses and other useful connections I can use to help these people make it on their own. And, of course, I'm the one with excess cash, so," she explained as she finished loading the coffee maker and switched the machine on, the quiet hissing and gurgling sounds it made filling the kitchen.

"Think of it as a sort of a witness protection-program," she shrugged and took a seat. Helena sighed. Yeah, a witness protection program only with a lot more possible leaks.  
"And you are sure none of the other people in the network have compromised you?" she asked, also kind of wanting to know how could Hunnigan afford all that so easily but decided not to ask. Yet anyway.

"Unlikely. The network's designed so that we don't know each other or of each other. Everyone only knows the next link in the chain, so there's technically only one person who knows about my involvement, and I know she's not the type who'd be intimidated by an angry ex-spouse."

"Okay, so, what about the people you've helped, any chance one of them could've spilled the beans?"  
"Sure, it's very possible. It's not uncommon for them to go back home even after everything," Hunnigan nodded and Helena sighed deeply.

"So, it could literally be anyone."  
"Yep. Which is why all there is really to do is to wait for him to make his move."

"You really don't care, do you? Are you, like… going for suicide by weirdo stalker?" Helena frowned and Hunnigan chuckled, shaking her head a little.  
"No, I just do not come from a normal family, which means it takes a lot to faze me," Hunnigan smirked.

"Maybe some time you'll tell me more about it."  
"Maybe once I'm done being angry at you for spying on me."

"I'm sorry I did that."  
"I suppose I'd feel angrier and more violated if I hadn't noticed it like immediately."

"Still. But, what about that guy, you can't just keep ignoring this."  
"Well, seeing as he's figured out where to deliver a 'pizza' to me at my office, I'm assuming it won't be long before he shows up here."

"There you go again with the nonchalance, how are you not concerned?" Helena scoffed, frowning deeply. Hunnigan stood up and grabbed a mug from the cabinet, poured herself a coffee and paused then, leaning into the counter, seeming to somehow deflate as she sighed and hung her head low.

"Truth is, I am terrified," she muttered.

 _That's why she never left the apartment or went anywhere,_ Helena mused. Granted, there was a possibility it was just how Hunnigan was, as Leon had put it, she was an introvert. But even so, she'd never come across as such a shut-in.

"But I don't really know what to do about it. Assign a protective detail to myself? Yeah, that wouldn't be a waste of resources," Hunnigan rolled her eyes. Then, as if everything was just fine, she grabbed the milk from the fridge and added some into her coffee, asking Helena if she wanted some in hers or if she wanted sugar. Helena shook her head and ignored Hunnigan's subtle way of trying to change the subject.

"Not a protective detail, just let me be your bodyguard," Helena said as she accepted the mug of black coffee and took a sip.  
"You seriously don't have anything better to do?" Hunnigan inquired as she sat down at the kitchen table, across from Helena.

"You do realize I've just spent weeks watching you to make sure you were all right, so, guess."

"Creep."  
"Ingrate."

They both chuckled a little and Hunnigan sighed deeply. She didn't agree to it, but at least she didn't turn it down either, Helena took that as a small victory.

"So. What's your story?" Helena then inquired.  
"A long one. What do you want to know?"

"You mentioned your family earlier. Plus, you seem to be one of the very few who don't have money problems, how'd that happen?" Helena quirked an eyebrow and Hunnigan chuckled; Helena sure was nosey, but at the same time, Hunnigan realized she was the first person who'd ever really wanted to know about who Hunnigan was.

"My dad was a drug lord. Or, well, he probably still is," Hunnigan began and Helena's eyebrows rose so high they seemed to almost disappear into her hairline. Hunnigan struggled to keep from laughing at the younger woman's expression. The seriousness of her story was enough to extinguish her amusement.

"He was a monster. I mean, not to me or my mom, no, he was very protective of us. But he was capable of doing horrible things. I didn't really realize that until I was fourteen. I hadn't seen that side of him," Hunnigan mumbled and took a sip of her coffee. It was getting cold already.

"I came home early after a Spanish exam which obviously didn't take long for me to finish since I was fluent, but it was a mandatory class in my school regardless. Anyway, to put it short, I walked in on my dad torturing a guy to death with a blow torch. After seeing something like that, yeah, not a lot fazes me," Hunnigan said and Helena almost chocked on her coffee.

"Where was your mother?"

"Tied to a kitchen chair, forced to watch it because the guy my dad was busy torturing was also the guy my mom had an affair with. Pretty stupid from her and him if I'm honest," Hunnigan muttered and went to pour her coffee away. She hated cold coffee.

"So, my dad noticed me and just said 'have a cookie and run along now, babygirl', so I did, I ran away as far as I could."  
"At fourteen? And your parents didn't look for you?" Helena scoffed in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sure they tried."  
"So… how did you make it on your own?"

"I had a ridiculous amount of money which helped a lot."  
"Dad's cash?" Helena quirked an eyebrow and Hunnigan chuckled as she got herself another cup of coffee.

"No, actually. I made my own at a very young age. Tech stuff, military-grade search engines, things like that."  
"Like Google?"

"Better and way before Google was a thing," Hunnigan chuckled and sat back down. "I spent a lot of the money on real estate and various other investments, some of them paid better than others."  
"So, the safehouses you mentioned…"

"I own a few apartment buildings, including this one. Most of the units are rented out to whoever, but I keep a few places empty, so they can be used as safehouses if necessary," Hunnigan explained.  
"Impressive," Helena said and Hunnigan shrugged a little. She'd never thought of it as particularly impressive, it had been partly luck, partly her skill.

"Are you sure the person coming after you isn't someone from your dad's rival… company?" Helena then pondered out loud and Hunnigan laughed, shaking her head.

"Now wouldn't that be a plot twist? But no, highly unlikely. I've no connection to my family, I sent a few letters and called my mom a few times when she was still alive, but I never told her where I was or what I'd changed my name to. As far as anyone on that end is concerned, I never existed."

"Okay, I admit, you're pretty badass, but that doesn't erase the fact that there is indeed a lunatic out there trying to kill you, and you need to deal with it," Helena then said and Hunnigan sighed in defeat.  
"And how exactly do you suggest I deal with it? I told you, there isn't a lot I can do."

"I told you, let me be your guard dog," Helena smirked.  
"Why do you want to do that?" Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow.

"Because I care about you and because protecting people is, in general, what I'm good at, you should know that, you've read my file," Helena said confidently and Hunnigan smiled.  
"All right. You can stay and be my bodyguard… for a while anyway. Go get your things if you're gonna stay here, I'm not sharing a toothbrush with you," she then said.

Once Helena had exited, Hunnigan returned to the kitchen for another cup of coffee, but there was a knock on the door. She noticed Helena had forgotten her phone and assumed it was the younger woman returning to retrieve it. Hunnigan grabbed it from the kitchen table and went to answer the door.

The moment she opened it, the man standing outside threw his long coat toward Hunnigan attempting to net her with it, but she recoiled and managed to avoid getting caught in it. He stepped in and kicked the door shut behind him as Hunnigan turned and headed back into the kitchen, not really thinking, merely following an impulse frantically telling her to find something heavy to throw at him or something sharp.

His footsteps sounded terrifyingly loud and heavy as he followed her and the moment she felt his hand reach out to grab her shoulder, the took the pot of coffee and threw the scalding liquid onto his face and jammed the empty pot forward, the reinforced glass impacting hard into his nose and mouth. He fell to the floor, shrieking and uselessly grabbing at his face as his skin burned. Hunnigan dropped the pot and hurled herself into motion, circling around him and dashed into the foyer. She yanked the door open and ran out only to literally crash into Helena who'd been standing there, her hand raised a little, her intention having been to knock.

"It's me, it's me!" Helena said, putting her arms around her and turning her away from whatever she was running from to shield her. The Guy made his way toward the door, blindly feeling his way around the wall and clutching whatever edges he could find, still grunting and wailing in pain. Helena turned, placing herself between Hunnigan and the man, and raised her pistol. She pulled the slide back, making sure he heard the unmistakable sound of it and he stopped moving.

"You fucking son of a bitch, I'm gonna put you out of your misery," Helena growled and took a step forward, pressing the stainless steel barrel of the gun firmly against his forehead.  
"Helena, don't. It's a _bad_ shooting, you know that," Hunnigan almost yelled as she hurried to grip Helena's forearm and push against it, gently trying to force Helena to lower the gun.

"Put the gun down!" a male voice called out and Hunnigan turned to look over to the end of the hallway where a pair of police officers stood, obviously having the wrong idea of the situation. Hunnigan moved to stand between Helena and them, her arms raised a little as she tried to calm the situation down so that no one would get shot.

"Hold your fire, she's a government agent!"

"I'm putting my gun down, all right? Just, everybody chill," Helena said and slowly lowered the weapon before giving it a small kick and sending it sliding away from herself. One of the officers moved to them while the other stayed back with his gun still drawn.

"What the hell happened here?" the officer closer to them asked then.  
"Well…"

* * *

After having spent hours going over what had happened and giving their statements, Helena and Hunnigan were finally told they could go home. Helena offered to stay with Hunnigan if she wanted, but she refused the offer, adamantly stating that she was fine.

"I'll probably have to spend my time cleaning the mess the techs have left behind while going through the place anyways, so it's not like I'd be much company," Hunnigan smirked.  
"I could help you clean," Helena shrugged.

"It's fine, really. I appreciate the offer and I'm glad you were there earlier, but go home," Hunnigan said and Helena reluctantly let it go. She drove home, wondering how many guys like that were out there. Hunnigan had never met the man, she didn't know whose angered ex he possibly could've been, how he'd found her, or if he even was one of the exes and not just a random nutjob who'd decided to target her for whatever reason. Helena supposed all of that would come out during the course of the investigation, but still.

When Helena got into her apartment, she realized the bugs were still in place, she'd completely forgotten about them. Maybe there would be some useful footage there about the assault the A.D.A. could use if (and hopefully when) The Guy would ever be prosecuted. Helena sat down in front of the computer and the monitors, getting ready to go look for the moment the attack had happened when she heard something.

She looked through the various little windows, shutting them down individually until she was left with the feed from Hunnigan's bedroom door. Hunnigan was crying. Not the tiny almost inaudible sniffles reserved for moments when someone might notice you were crying, no. These were the kind of loud, heartbreaking sobs you let out when you were convinced no one would ever know. The kind you cried into a pillow in the hopes of it somehow muffling the sound and your pain, but it never really did either.

"Oh, God," Hunnigan sighed then when her phone rang. Helena smile ruefully at that.  
"Yeah?" she answered the call, trying to sound like she hadn't been crying. Helena had to say she would've fallen for it had she not known better.

"What's the matter?" Helena asked.  
"Nothing, why are you—"

"No one cries like that for nothing," Helena interrupted quietly.  
"Augh, shit, come on!" Hunnigan spat angrily. "Shut that crap down!"

"I was going to, that's when I heard you. You sure you don't want me to come over?" Helena then asked and Hunnigan sighed deeply.  
"It's just adrenaline, I'm fine."

"That's not an answer."  
"…I don't really want to be alone now," Hunnigan finally admitted after a long moment of silence.

"I'm on my way."

* * *

"Frankly, I'm a bit embarrassed," Hunnigan said and took a sip of the rum and coke she'd made for herself after deciding to switch into something a bit stronger than coffee to calm her nerves. Thankfully, the people who'd been around to collect evidence and take photos earlier hadn't made much of a mess and hadn't told her to keep the scene intact in care they'd need to come back later. Not that there was much evidence to collect to begin with.

"Why?" Helena frowned and sat up straight on the couch, turning her full attention to Hunnigan who sat next to her.  
"Because this whole thing is just so stupid. I should've been more careful, I shouldn't have ended up in this situation and I certainly shouldn't have needed you to swoop in and rescue me."

"I like rescuing you," Helena grinned and Hunnigan rolled her eyes at that but smiled nonetheless; it was nice to feel cared for. Frankly, that feeling was the only thing that had kept her from wanting to strangle Helena for having the audacity have someone break into her apartment and install all the bugs; Helena hadn't done it just for the hell of it, she'd done it out of genuine desire to keep her safe. At least that was she'd said and Hunnigan was willing to believe her.

"The thing is, I'm not used to such things. I've been taking care of myself for the past twenty years and I've never understood people who say they need someone to look after them. It's not a need, unless you're a child," Hunnigan said and Helena nodded slowly.

"Sounds to me like you're terrified of people thinking of you as a damsel in distress when clearly, you are a strong, independent woman," she summarized and Hunnigan chuckled.  
"Well, kind of, yeah."

"Would you consider me a damsel in distress?" Helena then asked.  
"Never," Hunnigan chortled and Helena smiled.

"Yet, I totally have been one, more than once, but most recently I recall the time I committed a little crime called treason. I'd be in jail if you hadn't swooped in and rescued me. And don't try to tell me that it was different, because it really isn't," Helena then said and scooted closer to Hunnigan, letting her arm rest over the back of the couch. Hunnigan shifted a little too, and for a while Helena expected her to move further away from her, but instead, Hunnigan moved to press her side against Helena's.

"Regardless, it's not something I enjoy. I don't want to get used to relying on someone to always come save me."

"And you're right, you shouldn't just assume that someone will fix everything for you, but at the same time, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the feeling of security you get when you know that there's someone you can rely upon," Helena commented, loosely gripping Hunnigan's hand in her own, letting the side of thumb caress the back of it lightly.

"Let me be that someone," she then added.  
"Why?" Hunnigan frowned.

"Because, evidently, I'm good at it," Helena smirked and Hunnigan scoffed, not agreeing or disagreeing.  
"And the reason I'm good at it is because I genuinely care about you. A lot. So, it's important to me that you're okay, safe and sound," Helena continued, her voice growing softer and Hunnigan swallowed hard at her words.

"Well, honestly, you are one of the very few selfless and truly brave people I've ever known, sometimes you're downright stupidly—" Hunnigan began to say but Helena distracted her by putting her fingertips underneath Hunnigan's chin and gently urging her to turn her head, and when she did, Helena leaned to interrupt her words with a kiss.

"I've wanted to do that since the first time I met you," Helena grinned a little after breaking the kiss.  
"That happened over two years ago," Hunnigan scoffed a little.

"I know," Helena stated and Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow. "You were so neatly put together in your perfect suit and not a single hair out of place, I just wanted to mess you up. I still do. In a good way," Helena added.

"Well… sorry to disappoint by not having anything to mess up at the moment," Hunnigan smirked. She'd left her hair open and instead of her trademark gray suit, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that had a picture of a tiny cartoon owl popping out from a coffee mug underneath a text that said there was no life before coffee.

"I find myself liking this version of you even more," Helena said and Hunnigan almost blushed. Almost.  
"You're cute, but—"

"Damn right I am," Helena interrupted because she didn't want to hear the soul crushing things that she was certain were just waiting for her behind that little word.  
"…I seriously doubt I could be the woman you think I am," Hunnigan finished her sentence in a mutter.

"Why? Because I don't know your favorite color, your favorite food or your mother's maiden name?"  
"Helena, you don't even know my name," Hunnigan laughed heartily and Helena stared at her blankly for a long while, realizing she was right.

"My point is, how can you be sure you're not the woman I think you are? Aside from your name, what is so different about who I think you are and who you actually are? I bet not a lot," Helena reasoned.  
"I don't know. I guess it really depends on what you think."

"I think I'm falling for you which, coincidentally, means I don't do a lot of thinking in general nowadays because I'm distracted. Like this one time at work, I literally just sat there for like half an hour just thinking about you because I knew you'd been there because I could smell your perfume. Leather and dry wood with a hint of something softer," Helena recalled and leaned closer to Hunnigan's neck, inhaling slowly and deeply.

"I want to say almonds," she mumbled then, her breath touching the side of Hunnigan's neck causing her to unconsciously hold her breath. She found herself wishing Helena would close the small space between her lips and Hunnigan's neck, but she didn't; Hunnigan was convinced Helena knew she was expecting her to, which was why she didn't do it.

"Cherry, actually," Hunnigan corrected in a whisper. Helena inhaled again.  
"Hm. How did I miss that?" she pondered and pulled back, the movement bringing Hunnigan back to reality. The small, confident smile on Helena's lips told her she knew exactly what she'd done.

"You are such a tease."  
"I can be, but I was also very serious about what I said… about falling in love with you," Helena then said and as if to back up her statement, her smile faded, and her expression grew serious.

"I'm not gonna lie and say I never thought about you that way, but…"  
"No buts. You've thought about it, I've thought about it, both consenting adults here, so what's the problem? There is no problem," Helena gave her salespitch and Hunnigan smiled.

"Other than more than possibly having to undergo a psychological evaluation at work to determine if we'd still be capable of working together, and we'd probably fail it if your recent shenanigans are anything to go by because you seem to obsess over my safety," Hunnigan drawled and Helena rolled her eyes.

"All I heard was you saying what a wonderfully loving and passionate woman I am," she said and Hunnigan chortled.

"I suppose that is one way of putting it," she admitted and slipped her arm around Helena's midsection to be able to press into her side fully. Helena smiled and let her arm rest over Hunnigan's shoulders, pulling her close and nuzzling the top of her head when Hunnigan leaned to rest it on Helena's chest.

"So, even at the risk of sounding like a thirteen-year-old… will you be my girlfriend?" Helena then inquired and Hunnigan chuckled.  
"I would like that."

"Yasss," Helena whispered victoriously. "Since we've established that, would it be all right if I asked what your birth name was?" she then asked and Hunnigan pursed her lips a little as the thought about it.  
"Not yet."

"Okay. Then I have another question. Do you intend to continue cuddling with Nic?"  
"Probably, most likely almost definitely," Hunnigan said and Helena quirked an eyebrow. At least she was frank about it.

"Am I allowed to get jealous?"  
"Yes, at first, but ultimately you should come to realize it's not about romance or sex and that you have nothing to be jealous about."

"All right then. This was a weird conversation."

"Agreed," Hunnigan chuckled. "It's getting late," she then noted.  
"Yeah, I should probably…" Helena trailed off, not really wanting to finish the sentence, and Hunnigan knew as much.

"You're welcome to spend the night if you want," she offered, and Helena smiled.  
"I would love that."

* * *

Hunnigan was the first to wake up and it took her a while to remember why she wasn't alone in her bed. Years upon years of witnessing the worst of relationships (first with her parents, then with all the people who'd come to her for help when escaping an abusive spouse) had left her wanting little to nothing to do with them. She'd always been more than happy by herself and never imagined anything would be worth risking that for because based on her experience, people always found a way to let you down and hurt you. Why needlessly expose herself even to the possibility of that since she was fine on her own?

However, with Helena it felt… different. Helena was reliable, protective, trustworthy (even though she had her moments of bad judgment and letting emotions get the better of her, but Hunnigan was willing to blame a part of that on Helena's youth). She had an aura of strength that seemed to radiate from her deepest core and engulf those around her in it, bringing about a sense of security. It sounded ridiculous, she knew, but it really felt like having a pair of loving arms around her keeping her safe and away from any harm, even the kind she'd never even realized to imagine. Perhaps that was a part of why Helena had always been good at her job; he presence alone was enough to convince anyone that she'd keep them safe and that they could trust her.

Helena turned to lay on her side, still fast asleep, but her arm instinctively wrapping around Hunnigan's midsection and pulling her close. She smiled and snuggled into Helena's neck, letting her eyes close as she felt Helena sleepily run her fingers through her hair.

Maybe this wouldn't be such a terrible thing to get used to after all.


End file.
